Teaching Math to Preschooler 2

When I was in kindergarten, my mom hired a tuition teacher who made me do sums that looked like this:

  2347
  9382
  2906
+4759   
             

Holly molly, how I HATED math. I was a little Dragon girl then, I wanted to run and climb trees, catch bugs and scream and shout. Instead, I had to do sums.....imagine doing pages and pages of that. Thanks ma, I am allergic to numbers now.

It's not that my mom was kiasu. She couldn't teach us herself and therefore, she did what she thought was best for us. I vowed never to do the same to my own children. I never thought I would have a little math nerd for a son.
 
I brought Tiger to Eye Level the other day, just to see if he would like it. Basically, the FREE SCREENING test for his age was to see if he could write 1 2 3. Since I've never forced Tiger to write lines, he squiggled legible but fugly numbers. Alas, that meant he must start from Book One. Tracing numbers & writing lines. My allergy sky-rocketed.

"You want me to pay fees to trace 1 2 3?" 

*I didn't say it out loud la*

Instead, I asked Tiger if he would like to join the class. 

He replied, "I like math with mama only"

*Mama did imaginary Kozachok dance and backflips*

I smiled and said, "Never mind, we can write at home. Maybe when he is 5? Bye"

Like what Madam Pow Yew said, Math is magic!

It should be fun, exciting and intriguing.

What we do at home is:

Sometimes, we write/scribble

 

Sometimes, we just count

Occasionally, he uses his Logico board.

If we bring the board  to my room, he will ALWAYS ask for popcorn.

It's like the book, If You Give The Mouse A Cookie.

In this case, I gave the Tiger some Garrett Almond Popcorn

while we played with this in my room last July.

Associating popcorn with math. Genius, no?

I need a popcorn maker.

 I snapped a craft stick into two to make a "bigger/smaller than" sign

I recently purchase some magnetic numbers from ELC during its member sale

but I needed a sorter...tadaaaaa

                     category box              +      magnetic letters

Tiger was over the moon.

"Mama, wah....so nice!"

  

 Never be afraid to teach new math concepts.

They think it's a game!

 

 Something for Teacher Mama.

After he completes a worksheet, he gets either a stamp

or a sticker.

Not like I get to stamp because Tiger will do it himself but

ain't that the best part about homeschooling?

Our goodies from Bookxcess!

I really like this book Math Wizardry by Kenda & Williams

(ISBN-13: 978-0-7641-4176-8)

For example, her guidelines for young math wizards are:

• Make math hands-on
• Take math outside
• Take math on a vacation
• Encourage kids to keep a sketchbook/observation notebook
• Make charts/graphs with your children
• Encourage an interest in architecture
• Keep sports stat
• Play with codes
• Take math into the kitchen
• Make math a holiday event
• Don't step in too fast
• Don't be reluctant to expose children to difficult concepts

I feel like I can teach math when I look at her guidelines. Haha! Very much like Madam Poh Yew :)

Only rm 17.90 from Bookxcess! 

Preschooler Update: Almost Four!

Almost Four!

How quickly this chubby baby became...

.....this lanky kid. 

He is still the sensitive, thinking child I've always had.

In this shot, he was pondering about which prop to add to his 'frog pond'

 

He is a little nerdy at heart. Okay, very nerdy.

Too skinny.

But handsome (haha!)

At almost 4,  he decides on what he would like to do.

Usually its some cut & glue or math.

When I suggest Ready? Go! (right brain practise)

He gives me a determined, sour face, "No. I don't like ready go"

"Why? I never scold you anymore" 

"I don't like it. I like math. You say ready go one more time, I go downstairs.

You study alone."

Sigh...

MATH

So, we do some math everyday.

Still dunno whose math genes he got. 

Must be Winnie yiyi's, cause nobody else likes math.

He is quite good for his age.

Not a genius because 3 year old geniuses would be doing quantum physics by now.

Here, he figured out skip counting by 2 without my help.

Btw, zero here represents 10 (according to him)

 I took the opportunity to introduce him to tadaaaaaa, the times table!

Sorry la, cannot resist the Asian Mom in me. 

 

More math. 

He actually enjoys tracing numbers and counting.

 

We danced to some skip counting by 2 songs from Youtube.

And then I decided to teach him odd vs even using the red counters.

He got it in 10 minutes. End of lesson.

I must be a damn good teacher la *flips hair*

PLAY

 He was down with some viral infection.

High grade fever for 5 days and lost some weight again....arghhhh.

 Still he requested for school but we just played during that time.

I love this set of building toys on loan from Winnie.

He made these that I posted on fb.

Got some money sense, this one.

 

I also posted some laughing pics of him.

Now I recall what it was that made him so happy.

I was telling him that the creature was llama

He said, "Blama? Clama? Clement??"

Hyena laugh.

 WRITING

Tiger is also keen on writing at the moment, so we focus on skills that strengthens his grip:

Coloring within lines

 

Writing in sand.

These are leftover from his sand art kid. I added some salt for volume

  

 He is always excited when I change the trays.

This set was meant to entice Dragon girl but Tiger insisted on doing it.

I replaced the red rods with marbles.

 Major tip to get their attention:

Just add water.

Now they are learning to share without whacking each other.

CHINESE

 He has completed B cards from Baobei after almost 1 year.

Not too bad for a non Chinese speaking boy.

SOCIAL SKILLS

With strangers, he still still very shy.

The sister is as much an extrovert as Tiger is introverted.

Dragon is the first on stage and Tiger would only dance after everyone's left.

 Oh, actually he didn't dance. He was just running around.

 

 With his darling Grandma

Cognitively he will have no problems.

Socially, he has improved a lot. 

He has two friends in Baobei now. 

Hahahahaha....versus one friend last year.

I love you, my darling boy.

I wish you a very Happy Birthday in advance and my only

wish for you at 4 years old is to gain some weight and to be in the pink of health.

Math: Worksheets, oh worksheets!

3 year 4 months old

Remember this schedule I made?

 

He loves checking it and deciding his own thing.

We'd already cycled, visited the playground and did messy play

but he was like, "It's okay, that one can do again"

@.@

 Double standard.

Recently, it was all about Math.

Since he is not attending preschool/kindy, he thinks worksheets are fun.

>.<

 I bought this book from MPH for about RM 20

I didn't know it is a bestseller when I chose it.

I just liked the concept and presentation.

Well, Tiger love it (Mighty good taste I have)

You can check it out here

Because it is so pricey, I wanted to recycle it for Dragon.

So, we use it with our Crayola Dry Erase Board & Daiso markers.

Here are some of his work.

As you can see, it is not too tough.

Simple counting

  I combined it with some counting abacus beads to make them more hands on

and to make it more concrete for additions.

Tiger actually hates it when I add stuff.

He thinks I am slowing him down :p

Too much right brain work??

He cannot write number 6 or 8 yet, so I write the answers for him.

No forcing allowed.

 

Patterning

I created some simple patterning strips with stickers as well.

We practiced some scissors skills after that.

I have to limit him to 1-2 sheets per day.

His seriousness towards 'work' is not limited to homeschool time.

His attitude in BaoBei is the same.

He is almost done with Set A cards (about 100 words).

Not bad for a banana.

 It's just who he is. 

A boy who loves learning, words, and numbers.

If your child loves to play and find worksheets boring,

use your daily activities to reinforce numbers.

We count absolutely everything.

Trees, birds, fruits, money, etc.

If it's any consolation, Dragon girl will probably do zero worksheets.

Her attention span is as good as a fish's

She looked at this puzzle for 5 seconds before asking for....

  

.....this sticker activity that was included in the Halloween party pack.

After I laid it out for her, she took one look and walked away!

=.="

God, I hope she is really tall and beautiful when she grows up.

Please, please do not let get my shorty genes.

Preschool Guide to Math

Warning: A lot of links on this post but definitely worthy of your time.

So, don't be lazy, go read.

<<< >>>

 I heard Tiger singing the other day,
One plus one is two
Two plus one is three
......
(from Shichida song)

Correct, but when I ask him,
"If mama give you 1 sweet and papa give you one more,
how many sweets do you have?"
Three
=.="
Confirmed. Not math genius.

Since I am not trained to be teacher, I have to ask Google.
First, must back up my teaching with science.
This article is useful

I was looking for a guide on preschool math when I found some I like:

1. Life of Fred (books)

2. Greg Tang (books)

3. Singapore Math

At the end of the day, what I want to achieve is
still the same: LOVE OF LEARNING
CURIOSITY
CREATIVITY

What should your child learn in preschool math?
 Even if they didn't learn a single thing by end of preschool, at least make sure they
have some number sense

If you are happy that your 4 or 5 year old can recite
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
and trace those numbers on countless worksheets
you are in deep shit.
I know kids in our system who recites blindly from A-Z.
But when you show D individually, you get a ??????

Bottom line is,
they must understand that numbers represent a set of things.
Like how words represent an emotion.
Otherwise, you are wasting your money.

Just like
how kindy waste one month preparing for concert
by making children conform to a routine in a monkey suit. 
Monkey suit also you must fork out own money.
Kolian.
Just that alone turns me off.
No, thank you, I'd rather spend that money watching paint dry.

 My advise: PLAY
but not just plain play, SNEAKY PLAY

At this age, they must be able to touch and feel math.
Use anything you can manipulate.

 For more ideas, you can refer to Karen Cox's prekinders
Choose a guide that you are comfortable with and stick with that!

Generally,

PRESCHOOL SCOPE

• Numbers & Counting
• Grid Games
• Matching
• Shapes & Geometry
• Pattern Block Mats
• Sorting
• Patterns
• Sizes
• More, Less, Same
• Estimation
• Money

KINDERGARTEN SCOPE

• Count to ten
• Count a set of five objects using one-to-one correspondence
• Identify the numerals 1-5
• Compare sets of objects and describe them using “more,” “less,” “equal,” or same
• Use correct vocabulary to compare objects (“big,” “small”; “long,” “short”; “more,” “less”; “heavy,” “light”)
• Use words that identify time of day (“morning,” “afternoon,” “night,” “day”)
• Identify circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles when shown models
• Sort objects by their attributes (color, size, shape, and so on)
• Use words that indicate position (“in,” “out,” “beside,” “over,” “under,” “between”)
• Recognize and copy patterns in songs, rhymes, and body movements

Tiger loves worksheets too but I try not to do too many.
He is kinda btw a preschooler and kindergartener's level at the moment.

So, too simple a task...BORING!

To difficult and he becomes frustrated. Like writing numbers, etc

Solution?

I try to challenge him creatively by asking him to create games of his own.

Here's what we did last night.
 Prop: Skeletons (RM 5.90 from Memory Lane)

Matching with pipe cleaners (Daiso)
It was Tiger's idea to make a cross.

More complicated matching.
He was to match with the pipe cleaners.
Problem: too short.
Solution: He said, Nevermind, can ady
=.=""

His work
Essentially correct but so grrrr....crooked!
I was telling myself, "Control...do not correct his work. Breathe"
Must. Control. Self.



He came up with helicopter skeleton.
Excellent fine motor work.
Again, if he was in kindy,
I doubt this kind of non-conforming behavior is encouraged.

 

 Matched with musical bells.
Ring according to number of skeletons

Going to sneak in some addition work tonight.
Again, me no expert. Just a mom, doing her best.
Following my nerdy boy's lead.
We will probably use Singapore Math soon.
Will keep you guys posted on that.

I read somewhere that our educational system is from the Industrial Ages.
Where silence, obedience, robot-like factory workers are created.
Despite new findings, it will take many many years before changes are made.
It's okay, we can beat the system...one kid at a time.
Gawd, I hope I am still so spirited when Tiger's 10 years old.

Homeschool Setup: October 2013

Lil Dragon: 15 months

Lil Tiger:  3 year 4 months

Lil Dragon is still exploring with her mouth when it's something new

and exciting to her.

The itty bitty things in 'class' are pretty meh to her by now

 but I still watch her very, very carefully.

Verrrry sneaky, this one. Almost like Smeagol.

Tiger is currently,

• an emergent reader
• doing simple additions and subtractions
• very much into painting and coloring

His latest creation: The Solar System.

So abstract, kan?

I really love this painting of his but you can have it for RM 50.

Any takers?

Come on, may be worth millions one day. 

<<< >>>

I have no idea what to call this instead of circle time.

This is where we start our class and decides what Tiger would like to do.

We have his schedule, calender and some theme books.

This week, we are still reading Halloween books.

On the wall is his new Solar System poster.

(He can do Solar System for the whole year)

Math

Tiger is into counting now, so we will be focusing on that.

This is the math center as per his request

1. Balancing scale with counting bears {more or less}

2. Blue and red rods; 0-10 cards, number clips {zero to ten}

 3. Colored beads and blocks for free play/sums/patterning

Sorting 

Bought this box from Fun & Cheer for RM 6.80

Fine motor and Lil Dragon's corner

   Some stickers for Dragon's old can

 

Threading buttons for Tiger & an extra for Dragon (to minimize fighting)

 Reading station

Mother Goose and finger puppets for finger play

 Chinese (Shi Wu Kuai Du)

Reading pen

P&J

Kohwai and Young Word Family 

Brillkids

I wish I can say we do all the above but we don't.

Only when the kids feel like it.

Or we just read stories before bed.

Studies show that early reading don't make a difference in later academic achievement.

 

  

Music

Both the kids love playing with musical bells .

 I taped three A4 sheets together and drew a musical staff for him 

to place some felt notes on.

We use them for solfege.

 

Sensory bins

Dragon plays with the water beads EVERY night.

Sometimes, I am very lucky and I get this.

When I invite Tiger to join Lil Dragon, he replied.

No need. So smelly and wet. I crayon la..
=.="
Action betul

My Lil OCD requested for balloons and came up with this human burger.

He was carrying four but by the time I snap, he was left with these.
He is so nerdy, it hurts...hihi

My very cool lab creation?

Collecting dust...

Sigh..not easy to please these kids, you know.